The present invention pertains generally to wheelchairs and, more particularly, a uniquely configured wheelchair specifically adapted for transferring a physically challenged patient into and out of the wheelchair under the patient's own power or with the assistance of no more than one person.
There exists in the prior art, wheelchairs that are configured to provide some degree of mobility to non-ambulatory or physically challenged patients. Some of these patients are confined to a wheelchair due to a variety of conditions, including progressive neurological degeneration wherein the patient may be unable to move without the combined efforts of at least two people to lift the patient into and out of the wheelchair. For example, it may be desirable to relocate the patient from a bed in a bedroom to a living room chair in a living room. Unable to move under their own power due to lack of balance or muscular strength, the patient must be physically lifted from the bed, placed into the wheelchair, wheeled into the living room, and then lifted again out of the wheelchair and into the living room chair.
The lifting usually must be performed by two people or caregivers possessing sufficient strength, as one caregiver may not possess sufficient strength. In addition, the patient typically cannot be without a caregiver for more than six hours per day. Furthermore, the patient may require the assistance of a caregiver during the night in order to utilize bathroom facilities. Nursing homes may provide the assistance of caregivers who are specifically employed and trained to move nursing home patients. Such caregivers in nursing homes can lift and move the patient at various times during the day and night, as needed. However, the cost of nursing homes is prohibitively expensive. The high cost of nursing homes and hospitals may not be covered under government health care plans or private health care insurance. Employing a full-time live in caregiver is equally expensive. Finally, insurance costs may prohibit live-in caregivers and nursing home caregivers from moving the patient outside the confines of the patient's home or the nursing home.
In attempts to overcome the above mentioned limitations, electric wheelchairs have been developed. These electric wheelchairs include options such as powered seats that operate in a manner similar to the powered seats available in many automobiles. These powered seats may include a seat height adjustment capability that allows the patient to be raised above the level of an object to which the patient may be transferred. The lifting capability of the powered seats partially solves the lifting problem in that the need for two caregivers to lift the patient is eliminated. However, powered wheelchairs may cost many thousands of dollars and thus may be unaffordable to the same people unable to afford the high cost of nursing homes. Furthermore, for patients having a diminished sense of balance, the gap between the wheelchair and the article to which the patient is to be moved presents another challenge in that the patient may not be able to reach across the gap. A loss of balance while the patient is traversing the gap could be disastrous, if a lone caregiver does not posses sufficient strength to steady the patient.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for a wheelchair possessing the capability to raise the patient above the level of the article to which the patient may be transferred. Also, there exists a need in the art for a wheelchair capable of being lowering to a level that is less than that of the article from which the patient may be transferred. Additionally, there exists a need in the art for a wheelchair that provides the patient with the ability to steady and maintain their balance when transferring into and out of the wheelchair. Finally, there exists a need in the art for a wheelchair that provides resistance from tipping over when the patient transfers into and out of the wheelchair.